Stocks move in a tight range on Wall Street

In this Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, file photo, Floor official Nicholas Brigandi, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are opening mixed on Wall Street as traders keep a close eye on budget talks in Washington as a deadline approaches for reaching a deal.AP Photo/Richard Drew

Stocks meandered near break-even Wednesday as talks aimed at averting a "fiscal cliff" hit another snag in Washington. General Motors stock surged after the government announced plans to shed its ownership stake in the company.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down three points at 13,348 as of 11:50 a.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down two at 1,445. The Nasdaq composite index was up four points at 3,058.

The White House threatened to veto House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan for averting automatic tax increases and government spending cuts that are set to take effect Jan. 1 if no deal is reached on cutting the government's budget deficit.

Boehner had proposed a "Plan B," separate from negotiations with the White House, that would extend decade-old tax cuts for everyone making less than $1 million a year.

The S&P 500 index gained more than 2 percent over the previous two days in part because of optimism about a deal taking shape.

GM soared $2.21, or almost 9 percent, to $27.70 after the company said it would spend $5.5 billion to buy 200 million shares of its own stock back from the U.S. government.

The government pledged to sell its remaining 300 million shares on the open market and shed its entire ownership stake in 12 to 15 months. The government got GM stock as part of a 2009 bailout.

U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in November after starting work in October at the fastest pace in four years. Superstorm Sandy probably distorted the totals in the Northeast.

The Commerce Department said builders began construction of houses and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000. That was 3 percent less than October's annual rate of 888,000, the fastest since July 2008.

Materials stocks and industrial companies, both of which depend on the housing market, were down slightly.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, technology and energy stocks were among the early winners. Telecommunications companies and utilities fell the most.

Business software maker Oracle jumped $1.17 to $34.05 after reporting stronger earnings as companies splurged on software and other technology.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 0.04 percentage point to 1.78 percent. The price of oil climbed $1.22, or 1.4 percent, to $89.63 per barrel.